Genesis 4

₁Adam had sex with his wife Eve and she became pregnant. She had a baby boy and she named him Cain, because she said: ‘The Lord has helped me to have a son.’

₂Later Eve had another son and she named him Abel. He was Cain's brother.

When the 2 sons were older, Abel became a sheep farmer and Cain planted and sowed wheat.’ ₃One day Cain took some of his wheat and he gave an offering to the Lord. ₄Abel also gave an offering to the Lord. He gave the first lambs of his sheep to the Lord and he sacrificed their fat to the Lord. The Lord was pleased with Abel and He accepted Abel and his offering, ₅but the Lord God was not pleased with Cain and his offering. Cain got very angry. He looked down and his face looked sad.

₆Then the Lord asked Cain: ‘Why are you angry? Why do you look sad? ₇If you do what is right, I will be pleased with you and you can lift your head up again. But if you do what is wrong, then you sin. Sin is like a wild animal that wants to catch you, but you must be strong and say “no” to sin.’

₈Later Cain said to his brother Abel: ‘Come with me. Let's go far away into the field.’

When they were far away, Cain killed his brother Abel.

₉Later the Lord asked Cain: ‘Cain, where is your brother? Where is Abel?’

Cain answered and said: ‘I don't know where Abel is. I do not have to look after my brother.’

₁₀The Lord said to Cain: ‘What have you done? You have killed your brother and his blood has fallen on the ground. His blood is calling Me and asking Me to punish you.’

₁₁The Lord said: ‘Because you have sinned, I am cursing you. You must go away from this place where the blood of your brother has fallen on the ground. ₁₂When you work in the ground, plants will not grow in the ground that you are working. There will be no fruit for you to eat. You will not stay in one place. You will walk far from one place to the next place.’

₁₃Cain said to the Lord: ‘You have punished me but this punishment is too hard. I will die. ₁₄You say I must go away and there is no place for me in the world that will be my home. You will not be with me to protect me and anyone will be able to kill me.’

₁₅But the Lord said to Cain: ‘No, I will not let anyone kill you. If anyone kills you, I will punish that person 7 times harder.’

Then the Lord God put a mark on Cain. This mark was to show other people that they could not kill him. ₁₆Cain went away from God. He went to stay in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

₁₇Later, Cain had sex with his wife. She became pregnant and she had a baby boy. She named him Enoch. Then Cain built a town. He named the town Enoch, the same name as that of his son.

₁₈Then Enoch had a son and they named him Irad. Later Irad had a son and he named him Mehujael. Later Mehujael had a son and his name was Methushael, and when Methushael had a son, he named him Lamech. ₁₉Lamech married 2 women. Their names were Adah and Zillah. _20-21Lamech and Adah had 2 sons. Their names were Jabal and Jubal. Jabal was the first person who stayed in a tent. He had lots of sheep, goats and cattle. Jubal was the first person to play a harp and flute.’ ₂₂Lamech and Zillah had a son. His name was Tubal-Cain. He made tools from bronze and iron. They also had a daughter. Her name was Naamah.

₂₃One day, Lamech said to his 2 wives:

₂₅Adam and his wife Eve had another son. They named him Seth, because they said: ‘God has given us a son to take the place of Abel after Cain killed his brother Abel.’ ₂₆Later, Seth had a son and his name was Enosh.

At that time, the people started to pray to the Lord and worship Him.